Friday, January 20, 2012

Helllooooo & Happy Weekend to you all! Dontcha’ just love the weekends? It is NFL Football weekend here for sure….the Baltimore Ravens (Go Ray-Ray’s) play early on Sunday so you know where we will all be huh? Sunday evening hubby & I have to set up for Alexa’s Musical at her high school so we will miss the 2nd game…but we’ll be taping it so no sneakin’ me the score ok LOL. Alexa has another Sweet 16 Birthday party this weekend too & the birthday girl is taking them to Washington, DC to spend the night & have dinner. Now this is like Birthday party #5 for 16 year olds so far for her (oy veyyyy)….the last one they all took a limo to DC for dinner & sight-seeing…ummm do I have any clue what I’m doing for Alexa’s Sweet 16 in April yet? NOPE LOL! Not a darn clue but possible things are a weekend trip to NYC or a spa day but I don’t believe in huge, over-the-top parties…that money is being saved for her college not for a 16th birthday party…to me that’s ridiculous to spend $10,000 on huge formal parties for teens when I’d rather put it towards her education or even future wedding KWIM. Alexa’s BFF’s 16th birthday is the same date as her’s so there has been talk about having a joint event but I still gotta put my thinkin’ cap on…..however….

I’m not really in the mood to think about any events for my lovely, teen daughter…oh my! She got her braces on yesterday and let’s just say that the “princess” turned into the “wicked witch” and it was OH SO MUCH FUN….yeah the kind of fun that you NEVER want to have again…you know…we’ve all been there before huh? Now granted I am somewhat sympathetic…stop laughing, I really am…but…….come on! She is one of millions that has braces…I had braces when I was in high school & I turned out ok right? (well no laughing ok..that wasn’t a funny) AND we paid EXTRA to get her the white/ceramic braces so you can barely even tell she has them. And she only has to have them on for 9 mos…some kids have them on for years….so yeah I don’t feel that bad for her LOL. So there were tears, screaming, yelling, boo-hooing & all that jazz….between the sick boys in the house & then the brace-queen I was about to guzzle a whole bottle of wine & consider the use of other bad carcinogens for a bit last night…my head was splitting open. And to make matters WORSE we had to go dress shopping after the brace-fest for a dress for her dinner on Saturday night…oh yeah I know how to start a party don’t I….ummm no, not really but I am good at wallowing in self-inflicted torture apparently! I mean a teary teen, with new braces trying on dresses that made “her look plump”(umm no), “too short”, “too pale”, etc---I was slowly pulling out each strand of hair, very slooowlyyy…1 strand at a tiiiimmmmmmme….so that the pain of scalping myself suddenly was much worse than the pain of being where I was with a teenager hell bent on making me wanna shoot myself with a LARGE gun!! But I grinned and bared it the whole time, and finally we agreed on a dress and I managed to get us BOTH home in one piece….no recreational drugs used I promise! LOL! Yeah I can NOT STAND WHINING, GROANING or TEARS of any kind…some may say it’s a character flaw of mine but I have to disagree…my kids will tell you that I regularly say “Suck It Up-Move On”. Yeah some will say it’s a bit harsh but its not that I don’t baby them a bit when its needed…cuz I do…but I’m not going to entertain whining/crying about things we cannot control and situations that we find ourselves in. Life is HARSH, this I know well & they gotta learn now that its best to deal with it quickly, put it in its place, put a positive spin on it the best that you can and keep on moving. We all have to do things in life that aren’t nice, aren’t fun and maybe not exactly what we planned….BUT…you still gotta live your life so its best to learn early how to deal with it all. And that is really what I hope they learn from me, glass half full, deal with it, suck it up & LIVE the best that you can with what you are given

And here is the “princess” herself…yep you can barely see those braces huh? Geez…..she's still beautiful no matter what, but she'll say I have to say that cuz I'm her mom...lol!

Ok its video time….yep I feel the need to start your day with a funny…and this is cute, funny & touching and sure to bring a SMILE to your face. A friend showed me this video last week & I just loved it….they said it reminded them of what I might have been like as a young child…bwahahahaha…umm yeah no. I might’ve been a bit “funny” hee hee but I was VERY QUIET & SHY when I was small…NO LIE. Ask my mom & she will agree—I barely talked…then high school came & well I guess all hell broke out cuz my voice suddenly found me & I’ve been using it ever since…and yes I sing loudly…and dance wherever I may be…heehee…lucky you all huh? But this girl will be a star one day for sure…so have fun smiling & watching!

***My friend Tina Gilliland is celebrating her Blogaversary and one of the prizes is a CMC Copic Online Class at my classroom....so hop on over HERE to enter if you want a chance to win!

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Just Dance!!

Today I’m sharing a whimsical project with you featuring these sweetNEW “Spring Flora Fairies” for SCACD---this one is called “Iris” (and she comes with an iris image too). There are a few of these cute fairies & they are perfect for your upcoming spring projects I used some beautiful new papers by Glitz Paper “Vintage Blue Fancy” –I love this new Glitz paper line….beautiful patterns & colors.

I used a mix of Prima & Wild Orchid Crafts flowers and the sentiment is from Technique Tuesday. The scrolls were made with a Magnolia Doohickey die and I liked that they framed the image like fairy/butterfly wings. She was colored with Copics in blues & yellows and then I stickled her wings and bodice…I added a small pearl accent to her bodice as well.

Ok I hope you all ENJOY & TREASURE your weekend! I’ll see you back here on Sunday with another FUN SMASH BOOK post for y’all! See ya!

Oh those little ones are so precious and funny. You made me laugh so much today. I do feel for your daughter, I remember my first day with braces, but oh my word how she would have hated them in my day. You can't even see them on her, mine were silver and I had to wear them to my matric dances and the first few months out of school when I was studying. A total of three years wearing them - nightmare. When they came off though it was so oh worth it. She'll be thanking you in a few months. Your card is very cute today, love the scrolls. How I wish I could attend your classes, I'm really missing out not even knowing what a copics feels like in the hand - that's now something to cry about. Anyway my friend thanks for the good laughs today. Have a super weekend with the family. Look forward to your next post. Engie South Africa xx

Hi Suzanne, I'm a longtime follower and I love reading your blog - you have a very entertaining writing style! Oh, and I do love your creations too!! Your card is amazing!!This time Tina sent me! Have been looking at your online Copics classes for a while, but being in NZ I have to factor in the time difference!!

Hi Suzanne - dropping by from Tina's blog to leave you some love. Now the card is beautiful and just to let you know I will be getting this stamp very soon - My favorite flower is the Iris - and this note for anyone thinking of taking your classes - you just have to do it - you will amaze yourself because she teaches so much and the difference in your own coloring style at the beginning of her class to the end is amazing. On top of that she is so funny. Thanks for all you do.Jennifer

Your Louisiana friend stopping by to say hi, again! Alexa's brace are much more beautiful than the one's I had, and she's so lucky to have them for such a short time - 23 months for me {whew}...teehee! Your fairy card is so gorgeous - I simply must take one of your classes so I won't be so intimidated by my few copics :(...anyway, I subscribed to you and am following you, gf! Happy days to you! {or is that "trails"-oops, showing my Roy Rogers and Dale Evans age ;D!!!

Hi Suzanne! You always entertain whether it's sharing your travel adventures, your family happenings or something that just makes you smile. Love the video...Thanks for sharing. Love what a terrific mom you are. Your comments about "life is HARSH" reminded me about something I heard years ago and it makes so much sense. Children who are always protected and never allowed to experience disappointments and difficulties grow up to be adults who can't function in the real world. And last but not least love your beautiful card, especially the color scheme of yellow and blue, one of my favs!

Fabulous fairy card! I had seen that video before and that little girl is something else! At least you lived to tell the tale of your adventure with the teary teen! BTW, I am attending my very first Copic class in two weeks and I am very excited about it.

Love your little dancer card! Fab coloring and design as always! Your daughter is darling and I really couldn't see her braces in the photo. She'll get used to them and in the end will be SO happy with the results.Thanks for offering one of your awesome classes for Tona's blogaversary. She is such a sweetheart! I first met her at, where else, but a Copic class!!

LMBO...Teens don't know how good they truly have it these days do they? :) That's tuff love.Love the Sophia Grace video; she is definitely a star. And so outgoing! Love your sweet card and cutsie, cutsie image. She is adorable.Hugz,Cathy Lee